This is why I'm *really* worried about the record high alcohol-specific deaths figures that ONS published yesterday.

We modelled the impact of increases in drinking during the pandemic on health, and what's happened is much worse than our worst case scenario (those dots😬).

New paper shows there has been an increase in people trying to stop smoking because it’s too expensive since 2020.

~1 in 4 quit attempts by adult smokers in England are now motivated by cost

🧵

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/2/1/e0…

...It seems increasingly likely that the increases we saw in some people's drinking at the start of the pandemic have 'stuck' even as most aspects of life have returned to normal (more or less). Which seems bad.

ONS have published alcohol-specific deaths data for 2022 for England & Wales today, so we now have data for the whole of the UK. The picture is pretty grim, with deaths surpassing 10,000 for the first time on record - up 32.8% since 2019.

ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati…

For anyone interested in harm reduction, the new Royal College of Physicians report on #ecigs will be an invaluable resource of information. Huge amount of work from brilliant contributors, expertly coordinated by the ingenious Sanjay Agrawal! rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outpu…

New paper finds smoking prevalence appears to have risen by ~25%* over the past decade among more advantaged women aged 18-45 in England.

*From 11.7% [95%CI 10.2–13.5%] in Oct 2013 to 14.9% [13.4–16.6%] in Oct 2023

bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

Fantastic news!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Tobacco and Vapes Bill moves to Committee Stage with overwhelming support from MPs backed by tobacco retailers, the public, including smokers, and health leaders #BacktheBill to create a #SmokefreeGeneration

Today, MPs vote on new laws to protect our future generations across the UK from the harmful effects of smoking and to tackle youth vaping.

The UK’s Chief Medical Officers explain why they're supporting our plans for a #SmokefreeGeneration 🔽

gov.uk/government/new…

Just out: write-up of our SPECTRUM Research Consortium funded pilot data on gambling behavior and risk of harm from gambling in the UCL_Tobacco_Alcohol Smoking & Alcohol Toolkit Study.
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/4/e…

New article “Perils of Partnership: Interactions Between Public Health England, Drinkaware, and the Portman Group Surrounding the Drink Free Days Campaign” in IJHPM (0$) b #FOI dlvr.it/T5HpBq with Mark Petticrew May van Schalkwyk #CDoH Global Health Policy Unit School of Social & Political Science Edinburgh Spectrum SportsNet

A free app, Drink Less, can help people who would benefit most from reducing their alcohol consumption to do so successfully, according to a large randomised controlled trial led by UCL researchers.
Melissa Oldham Claire Garnett Jamie Brown
Behavioural Science & Health UCL ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/mar/…

To reach the UK smokefree target we need to target interventions and offer the best available support to switch away from harmful tobacco. Read findings from our trial recruiting people attending A&E...free and open access emj.bmj.com/content/early/… UEA Research MED UEA

The Drink Less app, developed UCL, can help people cut down on unhealthy drinking more than the NHS alcohol advice webpage, finds a large randomised controlled trial led by Dr Melissa Oldham Behavioural Science & Health UCL & Dr Claire Garnett University of Bristol NIHR Research ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/mar/…

Also published recently in Drug&AlcoholReview, led by Sarah Jackson: self-reported cross-border (within UK and international), illicit and home-brewed alcohol consumption, how this differs between England, Wales and Scotland, and how it's changed since 2020.

doi.org/10.1111/dar.13…

VERY excited that the main findings from the Drink Less trial are out today.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

What’s the local economic impact of the #SmokefreeDividend ?

Thanks to the great colleagues whose tenacity saw this project through to publication.

Tobacco Control #SRNT2024

tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/…

Our manuscript on use of #elfbar #vapes using ITC Project youth/young adult data has just been published in Addiction Journal onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ad…
Just in time for our SRNT #disposables symposium tomorrow morning :)
SSA KCL Nicotine Research Group

Me in today’s The Guardian discussing the raising the age of sale, and other measures…

Lots of quotes, thanks for the insightful and engaged interview Archie Bland

amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar…

Today we're introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Parliament 🇬🇧

It's the biggest public health intervention in decades & will create the first #SmokefreeGeneration , as well as tackle youth vaping.

Minister for Public Health @AndreaLeadsom explains 👇
gov.uk/government/new…